We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chandra Chatmon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Chandra, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
One of the main things that helps me keep my creativity alive is variety. They say variety is the spice of life, I say variety is the lifeblood of creativity. I began my creative career as a writer, moved on from there to become a jewelry artist, and then circled back around as a fiber artist, creating knitted and crocheted accessories. The reason I say that I circled back around as a fiber artist is that I began crocheting as a very young child at around the age of five. Then in college to pass the time on breaks and to help reduce stress I learned to knit. Little did I know that those two outlets from my youth would figure so prominently in my current artistry. I also have added a new creative expression as a content creator. I love fashion and I have been recently building social media content around fashion reviews and recommendations.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an artist who makes a living as a designer and content creator. I love the autonomy and the ability to express myself through my work. I have had an incredibly busy year as a content creator where I express my love for fashion. Fashion is such an important aspect of art, my desire and mission is to convince people to see it as a powerful mode of self-expression. I think this is particularly important as we continue to emerge from the last three years of intense change and varying degrees of isolation. How you feel in your clothing is just as important as how you look, if not more so. And how you look to yourself and feel about self is far more important than how the world views you.
I became an Amazon Influencer earlier this year and this comprises the bulk of my content creation. I am the sole designer for C Dyann Designs and I have also launched a new brand Future Black Chile. I launched Future Black Chile primarily to explore and incorporate artificial intelligence/digital art into my designs. I believe every artist should embrace it as a way to challenge his or her own creativity and innovation.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I often look back and wish I had started my career as an artist much earlier in life. I found myself pushing my creative expression aside for mathematical ability and ultimately settled for a variety of corporate jobs in forecasting and supply chain management. Sometimes that part of my life seems like nothing more than a huge delay from what I really was meant to do, but I picked up some invaluable skills along the way which I would not have been able to achieve otherwise. The first skill corporate life taught me is to trust my intuition no matter how crazy it might appear. Intuition is there to help you make the right decisions at the right time and to trust your gut. Without it, you will be lost. The second skill I acquired along my desk job path was to trust in my abilities. Corporate jobs are structured along hierarchies and it’s easy to believe that someone higher up is more intelligent than others, or that someone in a lower position is less able. These things could not be farther from the truth. Most of the people we encounter along hierarchies, especially in more coveted positions, are simply often well-prepared, more focused than the average person and sometimes a little lucky or well-connected. Once you understand that you have a valuable and unique set of skills which you must acknowledge and respect within yourself, you can use those to propel yourself forward with confidence in whatever you want to excel in. The third skill I cultivated was the ability to listen to others. It is amazing how many people do not feel seen nor heard. Your ability to listen to and truly acknowledge others can be an uncommonly valuable skill in most settings. It allows you to connect with people, it says that you respect other people, and you will often find others extending kindness that they otherwise would not consider extending.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was to simply love me. That meant that they provided a very stable home environment in every way. They always knew where I was, where I was going and with whom. My father had only completed sixth grade but taught me everything he knew about mathematics which helped propel me into high potential classes and environments through high school and beyond. My mother, despite having six children found time to show me how to be creative, and all six of us are extremely creative to this day. My parents together demonstrated true teamwork in their marriage and provided a very comfortable life for us despite coming from the humblest of backgrounds.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cdyanndesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdyanndesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdysigns
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandra-chatmon-2296031/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdyann/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cdyannreviews
